Man City facing ‘haunting parallels’ to Man Utd banter era
Manchester City are definitely going to fall apart exactly like Manchester United. How will they replace all their ageing players?
No way, Jose
‘Box office Ruben Amorim already has mentor Mourinho’s aura and can now match his Chelsea feats by sorting Man Utd mess’.
No sign of hyperbole there from The Sun, who sent Football Editor Charlie Wyett to Lisbon to attend Amorim’s press conference and ask the burning question: “What do you like about the Premier League?”
Amorim answered “everything” and Wyett was smitten, though to be fair to him, he has not actually predicted that Amorim ‘can match his (Mourinho’s) Chelsea feats’, as that would require him to win two Premier League titles in three years.
Even for The Sun’s traditional ‘build ’em up to knock ’em down’ tactic, that would be ludicrous.
Instead, he flails around for comparisons between the pair, who have wildly different personalities and tactical styles, and tries not to conclude that, well, they’re both Portuguese.
Entertaining press conferences? Does this remind you of another coach from Portugal?
It’s not exactly a niche; Jurgen Klopp and Ange Postecoglou are also pretty entertaining in press conferences, though crucially neither are Portuguese.
But he has an ace up his sleeve…
Mourinho’s birthday is on January 26, while Amorim’s is on January 27, but it looks as though he will follow in his fellow countryman’s footsteps in all sorts of ways.
They’re practically twins (born 22 years apart, with entirely different approaches to football).
Indeed, Amorim himself has said it “makes no sense” to compare him to Mourinho. Clearly he has no understanding of the way tabloid newspapers in England work. Are you Portuguese? Then you are the new Jose Mourinho. Sorry.
But Wyett is most worried that Amorim will destroy his reputation by managing Sporting to heavy defeat to Manchester City.
What is crazy, though, is Sporting president Frederico Varandas has insisted that Amorim stays for the next three games.
Odd. Wyett’s colleague Neil Custis wrote two days ago that Amorim himself ‘wants to delay his move to United until after Sporting play Manchester City’. But regardless…
If Sporting are thrashed 5-0 and Erling Haaland scores another hat-trick, which is hardly out of the question, then United’s fans will be forced to welcome a manager who has just been out-smarted by Pep Guardiola. Not a good start.
Sporting are unbeaten at home in over a year; they’re not going to lose 5-0 to a Manchester City side who have scored five goals away from home to just once in over two years. And we think Sporting might be better than Luton Town.
Don’t fret Charlie; your crush is safe for now.
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The Haunting
Elsewhere in The Sun, Neil Custis has written an utterly bizarre piece predicting that Manchester City could somehow become a Manchester United-style banter club when Pep Guardiola leaves:
There are haunting parallels for City supporters over what has happened down the road when an era came to an end.
There was a similar arrogance at Old Trafford that things would just continue because, well, they were Manchester United.
‘Haunting parallels’? Genuinely, are there f***.
Sir Alex Ferguson has been in charge of Manchester United for almost 27 years; Pep Guardiola has been in charge for eight years.
And Manchester City had won six major trophies in six years before Guardiola took over. Which seems quite important when you are claiming that they could just fall apart the second that Guardiola leaves.
You look at this team, much like United of old, and there are certain players that simply cannot be replaced like for like.
Star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, 33, is unlikely to still be at the club beyond this season.
‘Star midfielder’ De Bruyne has started four Premier League games this season and Manchester City are still top of the Premier League.
The incredible Kyle Walker at 34 cannot continue rampaging up and down that wing.
The ‘incredible’ Walker has started three Premier League games this season and Manchester City are still top of the Premier League.
Guardiola has turned John Stones from an average centre-back into one of the best players in Europe but he is already 30.
‘One of the best players in Europe’ Stones has started two Premier League games this season and Manchester City are still top of the Premier League.
Indeed, last season – when Manchester City won the Premier League, of course – Stones started only 12 Premier League games and De Bruyne only 14.
Not to labour the fact (we will), but of the 10 most-used outfield City players this season in the Premier League, exactly half are 24 or under.
When Manchester United last won the Premier League in 2012/13, the number of 24-and-under outfield players who started more than 20 top-flight games was just one: Rafael.
‘Haunting parallels’, my arse.
Down the road, when Sir Alex went it was like the tough head-master had gone and a young supply teacher was in.
Remember that, at school, when everyone just took the mick. That’s what happened at United.’
We suspect that Pep Guardiola will not be replaced by David Moyes, Neil.
Last weekend when City beat Southampton 1-0, friends of mine described the spectacle as “boring”.
Another said that the team had “lost it’s fizz”. Have they too become complacent?
City could easily lose it’s fizz without Guardiola because there is no obvious candidate to take up the reins.
Never mind fizz, you should lose that apostrophe, fella.
And City had 22 shots against Southampton despite having six players missing through injury. If that’s ‘complacent’, what the f*** are the 19 teams below them in the Premier League doing?
